History Main / DrugsAreBad

* In the ''Fanfic/ShiningAndSweet'' chapter "Dragged Into Drugs", Katrina spots some kids at her school smuggling cocaine. Her parents are both upset when she tells them this; her stepfather reminds her that [[TitleDrop drugs are bad]], while her [[HasTwoMommies biological father]] is concerned about how some high school students could even get their hands on such a drug, citing that in his youth, it was difficult for kids to even smuggle cigarettes. Katrina meets with the guidance counselor and school nurse to tell them what she saw, and they take it from there, leaving the fates of the three coke-using students ambiguous.

Although drugs, both legal and illegal, can have devastating effects on the lives of their users (and have resulted in the untimely deaths of countless celebrities), Drugs Are Bad shows and commercials often [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin exaggerate how bad they actually are]], very commonly becoming a CluelessAesop with all the {{Narm}} associated with it. Often, even the villains of shows, when presented with an opportunity to sell drugs for profit, will decline on the grounds that EvenEvilHasStandards.

* A subtle variation in [[SurvivalSandbox Salmon Run]] from ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''. Similarly to how most weapons are made of household appliances from the days of humanity, the four Grizzco weapons, which are illegal in Inkopolis due to how overpowered they are, are made with bottles of prescription drugs.

* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', one of the more focused on aspects of the evil of [[NebulousEvilOrganization Amalgam]] is the fact that they drug the girls they kidnap along with their AS pilots (in order to induce the AxCrazy psychological effects necessary). The fact that the organization goes around causing ''wars'' and ''mass destruction'' doesn't seem to hit Sousuke nearly as hard as the fact that they kidnap and drug girls (causing them to go crazy and become addicted). Then again, death has never been considered very important or horrible in [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror Sousuke's]] mind...

* Pee Wee Herman made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHFnc_eV4Lg this]] anti-crack PSA as a part of his community service after his arrest for pleasuring himself in an X-rated movie theatre.

* Wrestling/CaptainLouAlbano had a pretty infamous one where he explicitly stated (on [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids a children's network]]) that "if you do drugs, [[ScareEmStraight you go to Hell]] [[MindScrew before you die]]"; Not helping the fact is that he appeared in the commercial in his costume from ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow''.

* Pee Wee Herman made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHFnc_eV4Lg this]] anti-crack PSA as a part of his community service after his arrest for [[ADateWithRosiePalms pleasuring himself]] in an X-rated movie theatre.

* ''Film/RequiemForADream'' is DrugsAreBad: TheMovie!

* James Leo Herlihy's ''Literature/TheSeasonOfTheWitch'' has both DrugsAreGood (the protagonist and her friends, taking marijuana, hash, and LSD) and DrugsAreBad (the beautiful, doomed Archie Fiesta, taking meth, heroin, and God knows what).

* ''Film/CocaineBear'': The film makes a point of this, starting by quoting Wikipedia on the non-violent nature of bears, before showing the titular bear attack a pair of European hikers. From there, it makes it clear that the predator’s violent behavior is driven purely by coke, even showing anti-drug PSAs of the eighties to make its point.

* This is one of the main points of ''Literature/AScannerDarkly.'' The newest drug on the market gives a great high but can cause hallucinations and dissociative personality disorder. The novel is told from the point of view of an undercover narc. Throughout the book, he [[spoiler: uses the drug to maintain his cover, watches several of his friends suffer mental breakdowns, begins to lose his sense of identity, ends up shipped off to an evil rehab clinic which actually manufactures the drug, and is then revealed to have been sent there by his own superiors. Everything about his breakdown was engineered, and he was basically a sacrificial lamb for the government. Because Drugs Are Bad.]] To be fair, the book is also very poignant and one of the best examples of this particular Aesop.
** Also of note is the book's epilogue/author's note. In it, Philip K. Dick explains he based most of the characters on people he knew and his own experiences in the drug culture. He then lists those people who inspired the novel (and who he feels were punished far more severely than the crime deserved). Most of them are then listed as deceased or suffering from permanent vascular damage or psychosis. One of the names on the list is himself.
** Sadly the film didn't even break even at the box office, this being by far the best and most faithful Dick adaptation. Possibly, it was too deep in the UncannyValley.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

On the other hand, many anti-drug advocates would argue that compared to all the rest of the ugly, violent history of the War On Drugs, simply advising kids to steer clear of them should be the most obvious, straightforward, and least controversial course of action possible. Although hyperbole can easily sabotage the intended message.

* ''Life of Agony'' frontman Keith/Mina Caputo witnessed his father destroy his life and eventually die from heroin use. ''Let's Pretend'' and ''Heroin Dreams'' reflect this.

* Japanese culture frowns upon psychoactive drugs (other than alcohol), and especially marijuana. In addition to the extremely strict laws against possessing or using in any way, shape or form, there is a severe social stigma against drug usage. [[{{Anvilicious}} It definitely doesn't help]] that there is an entire subgenre of hentai works where one or more victims are forcibly hooked onto drugs to turn them into sex slaves incapable of saying no if they want to get their fix.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' features Giorno who tries to rise in the mafia, and he and many others in his RagtagBunchOfMisfits think that the part of the mafia focusing on drugs are the evil parts. Assassination? It's OK. "Protection services"? Fine and dandy. Drugs? Horror that must be defeated. To be fair, the author is from a country where trying to take a box of Sudafeds through customs will win you a body cavity search, but the {{Yakuza}} can openly run charities...

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'' comics, where Fat Freddy tries to present an anti-drug message -- but the problem is, he is so high on amphetamine sulphate that he can't get the words right... This is also quoting the Canned Heat song ''[[RefrainFromAssuming Amphetamine Annie]]'', where the repeated chorus line is simply '''Speed kills!''

* Music/CannedHeat's first album from 1967 contains the tongue-in-cheek "[[RefrainFromAssuming Amphetamine Annie]]", a dread warning against stimulants:

* Parodied in ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' when Simmons tells the other members of Red team that he and Grif were drugged. Donut immediately assumes that they were intentionally abusing drugs and proceeds on a long tirade about how drugs are bad, much to Simmons' annoyance. Simmons even comes right out and says that the only thing Donut is accomplishing by going on the anti-drug tirade is making him ''want'' to take drugs out of spite.

* Malaysian comic book series ''Profession'' ('''Chinese:''' 职业人气王 ''Zhíyè rénqì wáng)'' used this trope a few instances.
** Volume 7, which about police. One chapter have deal with drug dealers in fight in an island or boat fight.
** Volume 64 is an entire about this trope.
* In the near end of the two-part chapter, which focuses on [[spoiler:main character getting kidnapped,]] in the volume 6 of ''Mushroom School'' ('''Chinese:''' 蘑菇校园 ''Mógū xiàoyuán),'' have police checking the two bad guys and sandbag containing drug, and having one of the bad guys told about the consequences of drug trafficking (and death penalty, talking about an few of countries such of even China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore) and tell viewers to not ended up like him.
* An two-part issue of another Malaysian monthly comic book magazine franchise ''Gemeilia'' (Kokko and Mei, or 哥妹俩) about an peoples found the secret room of an castle so they can made drugs there, and they even hatched an plan to scare the visitors off from the castle to ensure that their plan is not leaked. And the police were arrived in the scene but they stopped temporarily when the bus containing the students and teacher arrived to explore the castle, and thus begin the plot.

* ''VideoGame/{{Lisa}}'': In the wake of the apocalypse, the FantasticDrug Joy, created by MadScientist Dr. Yado and distributed by the "Joy Boys" cult, becomes insanely popular across Olathe because it makes the user happy, stronger, and even heals in combat. However, it is also highly addictive, inflicting addicts with the withdrawal status effect, crippling them in combat, and causes the user to be ruled by their base desires. It also happens to ''turn the user into a HumanoidAbomination'' over time. Joy is the wedge that gets between Brad and every person he cares about, and ultimately leads to his downfall.